Another Athlete Receives an Easy Sentence for Raping Women & It’s Not Okay

Sigh. An athlete committed rape and got away with an easy sentence. Again. It doesn’t seem like we’ll ever stop seeing this same story over and over anytime soon. Following the footsteps of the Brock Turner travesty, 18-year-old David Becker was sentenced to a measly two years of probation for the rape of two fellow classmates.

In early April, Becker, then a senior at East Longmeadow High School in Massachusetts, was accused of sexually assaulting two classmates while they were unconscious. His charges are based on events that occurred at a house party on April 2, where he and other students were drinking. The party ended around 11:30 P.M., and Becker and both victims volunteered to help clean up, according to MassLive.com. After they were done, both girls went into an upstairs bedroom, one of the victims said. They had both been drinking and one of them needed assistance up the stairs. Becker later came in to talk with them, before they all fell asleep in the same bed. Both victims reported waking up to Becker sexually assaulting them.

The next day, Becker apologized for the assault via text message to one of the victims, court records show. The victim responded with “don’t even worry about it,” but later told police that she wrote this because “she did not know what else to say,” the police report states. According to court documents, Becker was arraigned in Palmer District Court on two counts of rape, as well as one count of indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14.

Based on the evidence, Eileen Sears, the Hampden County Assistant District Attorney, reportedly recommended the high school senior be found guilty of two counts of indecent assault and battery, leading him to serve two years in prison. But instead, Becker was sentenced to two years of probation on Monday. According to the terms of probation, he must remain sober (“drug and alcohol-free”) for two years, in addition to submitting an evaluation for sex-offender treatment. Becker also has to stay away from the two 18-year-old girls he assaulted. As long as he follows these terms, he won’t have to register as a sex offender, despite having committed an offense involving sex. The conviction won’t even appear on his record.

Thomas Rooke, who defended the 18-year-old in court, was pleased with the ruling. “We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18, 19 years old, and we shouldn’t be branded for life with a felony offense and branded a sex offender,” he said. “Putting this kid in jail for two years would have destroyed this kid’s life.” Hmm, where have we heard that before?

Rooke continued: “Labeling him ‘David the Rapist’ is truly an unjust character assassination of what this individual has accomplished in the past,” hastily pointing out that Becker was a “three-sport athlete” at his high school and “clocked the second-most hours of community service in his class.” Naturally, Rooke completely ignored the fact that Becker intentionally assaulted two female classmates. He skipped over the fact that his client could have potentially destroyed other people’s lives and senses of safety.

Becker, among other athletes, deserve to be held completely accountable for the crimes they choose to commit. Otherwise, we send the message that this kind of behavior is acceptable in our society, that it’s easy to get away with. Not giving rapists the punishment they deserve, simply based on their athletic accomplishments, not only tells the victims that their pain doesn’t matter, but that rape is allowed to happen to them again.